This year's Chile Challenge up in the air due to lack of participants

By Diana Alba Soular / dalba@lcsun-news.com

Posted:
01/31/2013 03:51:57 PM MST

LAS CRUCES — The status of a popular off-roading event called the Chile Challenge is uncertain this year.

At issue is that not enough people have registered — at least so far —to participate in the rock crawl and trail-driving challenge, said Jon Rice, event chairman. The group needs enough registrants and entry fees to cover the rising cost of hosting the event.

"As of now, everything is on board," Rice said. "There's just a slight chance that not everything goes through."

To date, drivers of nearly 120 vehicles have signed up, Rice said. But the hosting group, the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club, is aiming to get about 80 more.

"The only way the Chile Challenge gets put on is by participants," he said. "If we don't meet at least 200 participants, we don't make enough money to put the event on."

As a result, the group is seeking more participants for the 23rd Annual Chile Challenge, slated for Feb. 20-23 on public lands in Doña Ana County. The cost is $175 per vehicle, according to the event website.

In all, Rice said, 256 vehicles participated last year. There were a number of last-minute registrants — something that might happen this year, he said.

Still, if the numbers aren't boosted soon, Rice said the group will have to decide whether to go forward with hosting this year's challenge. That decision could come early next week.

Many of the trails are in the Robledo Mountains northwest of Las Cruces, also the site of a national monument.

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The four-day Chile Challenge draws off-road vehicle enthusiasts from across the Southwest and even some from Mexico. Vehicles, usually Jeeps, often have been modified to handle rugged trails, many of which are in desert arroyos. Modifications can include super-sized tires, a winch, tow hooks and protective metal plating underneath. The event isn't a race, but rather is considered a trail run where times aren't a factor.

Rice said Chile Challenge participation declined a few years ago, with the advent of an off-road racing event called King of the Hammers in California around the same time.

Permission ready

The group is on track to receive a BLM special permit to host this year's Chile Challenge, said Tom Phillips, supervisory recreation and cultural resources specialist with the agency.

"They have to agree to the terms in order to hold the event," he said.

The hosting group, the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club, has to show proof of insurance, which indemnifies the federal government in case of an accident. Plus, there's an event fee from the BLM, organizers have said in past years.

Saturday trails cut

Again this year, the Chile Challenge won't run on two of its "extreme" trails on Saturday, according to an online schedule.

Both routes —Patzcuaro's Revenge and Rocotillo Rapids, which feature mini-cliffs — historically were the most popular and drew the most spectators on the last day. They're the easiest to access by members of the public, and Saturday is the only weekend day on which the event falls. But BLM officials cited concerns with safety because of the hundreds of people who attended and, starting in 2010, disallowed the trails on Saturday.

That's cut into the number of spectators on the last day, though some still go out during the week to watch.

Phillips noted that it's not the BLM's event and so the agency isn't inviting the public. And the terrain isn't set to accommodate a crowd.

"We do know that event and the public don't mix too well," he said. "So that's why we don't encourage people to go out."

Phillips said the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club did a good job of complying with its permit requirements last year. And the BLM will be out watching this year's Chile Challenge, too, he said.

"We'll be monitoring that they're following the terms," he said.

Rice said the public can visit the Doña Ana County fairgrounds, about 10 miles west of Las Cruces off Interstate 10, during the Chile Challenge to see its vendor displays. They're open from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

"They're closed during the day," he said.

Chile Challenge participants should register online, Rice said. The event is also seeking vendors. For more information, visit www.chilechallenge.org.

Prehistoric Trackways

Many of the event's trails are located in an area that was designated by Congress in 2009 as the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument. Legislation allowed for the continued use of off-road vehicles, if it didn't damage 280 million-year-old, fossilized footprints, petrified wood and other natural resources known in the area.

Part of establishing the monument entails creating what's known as a Resource Management Plan —a formal document that spells out which activities can take place and where they can happen within the monument bounds. That includes which off-road vehicle trails will remain open going forward.

Phillips said a public comment period on the draft version of the plan — which features three main options — ended in October 2012. The BLM is evaluating the feedback to create a proposed RMP and corresponding environmental study. The final versions may be ready by this summer.

Once that's done, a 30-day protest period and a 60-day review by state officials will happen.

"After that, we'd issue our record of decision," Phillips said.

Phillips said he expects the process to wrap up in 2013, but it may take longer, depending on what concerns are raised during the remaining steps.

Diana Alba Soular can be reached at (575) 541-5443; follow her on Twitter @AlbaSoular